Rafael Pereira da Silva, also known as Rafael da Silva, was born on July 9, 1990 in Petropolis, which is located in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. His twin brother Fábio Pereira da Silva is also a footballer who plays for the Manchester United Football Club as of 2008 along with him.
Rafael da Silva represented Brazil internationally at the Under-17 level and put forth an impressive performance during the finals of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under-17 World Cup held in Korea in 2007.
Rafael da Silva, commonly known as “Rafael”, started his professional football career in 2005 with the youth team of Fluminense Football Club, which is one of the four main football clubs in Rio de Janeiro, others being Botafogo, Flamengo, and Vasco da Gama. While playing for this club in a Hong Kong youth tournament in 2005, Rafael da Silva was spotted by Les Kershaw, the then Academy Manager of Manchester United.
At the end of his stint with Fluminense Football Club in 2007, Rafael da Silva went on to sign a contract with Manchester United and was given the number 21 jersey, which was previously worn by Dong Fangzhuo. He made his competitive debut for the club in the right-back position on the first day of the 2008-2009 Premier League season in a match against Newcastle United, as a second-half substitute for Fraizer Campbell.
Man United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, feels that Rafael da Silva is an excellent player with lots of enthusiasm and determination.
